


They're Just Two Years

by cookkink



Category: One Piece
Genre: Caring Roronoa Zoro, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Parent Dracule Mihawk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-09-30 14:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20448878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookkink/pseuds/cookkink
Summary: Zoro expected the two years to pass flawlessly with no worries as he waits for the time to see his crewmates again. little did he know living with Mihawk and Perona wasn’t gonna make things pass flawlessly as he thought.





	1. Zoro and Perona

**Author's Note:**

> just how Zoro's life was when he had to live with Mihawk and Perona for two years. I wanted to read something like this but couldn't find it (Oda please we'd like something like this to happen) so I've decided to write a fic about it! hope y'all enjoy it uwu

‘what could happen in those two years? I’ll just fight and get stronger. just because I'm living with those two doesn’t mean it will make any difference.’ was what Zoro said a month ago. he didn’t put in mind that living with Perona and Mihawk would be such a pain sometimes. and definitely didn’t put in mind they will be more than just "people living in the same house".

Perona was the type of person to nag and shout whenever she can. everyone in this house felt bothersome to her and by shouting she thought she'd drive them out. even if Mihawk were to tell her that this is his house, to begin with, she'd brush it away and go back to her room. a room that, once again, wasn't hers as well.

and for Mihawk, he was exactly what everyone thought of: mute, stern, intimidating. that's how everyone observed him. everyone who _didn't _interact or live with him.

things seem to change as the days pass by. it might have only been a month, but Zoro was already starting to learn a lot. but he let nothing concern him, the only thing he was ever concerned about was the future. what does it hold? and most importantly, how is everyone?

a question that's been keeping him at night. he'd sometimes stare at the sky. despite how eerie things were on this island, he never felt troubled. he would lay down after a fight with Mihawk, defeated once again by him, and just sigh and look at the night sky. he would start wondering about the time he could finally defeat Mihawk, about his captain and how he is, about his crewmates that are scattered all over the world by now. how is Luffy? is he okay now? afer losing his-

‘Are you ever going to get up? your clothes are about to get all muddy. I'll have you know, I'm not gonna always clean it-’

‘shut up.’

Perona stares at him, flabbergasted by his reply. she flutters her eyelashes and finally her anger returns.

‘excuse me?’

‘are you dumb? I said shut up.’

‘and why would I, huh? did you forget that I'm older than you?!’

Zoro tries to sit down instead of laying and cough some blood, ‘you just learned that a few days ago, stop being cocky about it.’

Perona is now fuming, ‘and... and does it make any difference? respect me, you... you...’

Zoro waits for an insult.

‘you empty-minded freak!’

Zoro smiles and tries to stand up, ‘that was better than "snot-nosed idiot".’

Perona feels her cheeks heating up. she hits his shoulder with all her might, making Zoro swing lightly, then walked passed him.

‘you better wash your clothes by yourself this time,’ she turns to face him again, this time sticking her tongue out and saying: ‘and I'm not tending to your wounds either!’

Zoro finally breaks his expression. he turns grim and opens his mouth in a shock.

‘hey! that wasn't the deal!’ but, Perona was already gone by then.

this life of his really isn't going the way he anticipated...


	2. I'm not Worried!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> as Zoro fights, Perona watches anxiously. is she worried? or does she really hates him as she always says?

Perona floats next to Mihawk as he observes the young boy fights. Zoro moves swiftly left and right, killing everything that comes his way. no mercy, no second thoughts. as he slashes through one of the monsters, one comes from behind. he could sense its moves. and so, he quickly turns around and cut through it.

Mihawk has a satisfied smile on that if you were far away from him you wouldn't see it. as for Perona, she's, to everyone's surprise, even her ghosts, cheering for Zoro.

"go! go! green idiot! go!!" well, not quite a flattering cheering.

"shut up! I can't focus!" Zoro roars as he moves around trying to dodge the monsters from punching him.

Perona frowns and slowly falls next to Mihawk.

"what's with this idiot? I cheer for him and he just... stupid."

Mihawk's eyes move with Zoro's movements, "it's a serious moment, Perona. as you can see, Roronoa is fighting monsters that if they were to ever touch him, he'd probably be close to death."

Perona's eyebrows rise in fear, "a-and why is he fighting then?"

"to get stronger, of course."

she stars at Mihawk with shock and denial, "that's... that's so stupid! he could die. you said so yourself!"

"it's all a part of the train. he begged for his life for that reason. death is something that boy will never fear because his determination is quite stronger than you think."

Perona stars at him with horror running through her mind. she looks back at Zoro. all sweaty and bloody. something you'd be disgusted to see, but not Perona or Mihawk. Perona looks at him with worry instead. something feels strange. does she not want him to die? she shakes her head. of course, she doesn't care. she doesn't want to care either. but for some reason, her heart can't stop beating so rapidly.

Zoro starts grunting. only three more left, he says to himself as he observes the arena. a slash after another, he keeps flying his swords at them hoping it would end already. his muscles are tired and his vision is getting hazy. is this it? will he fall to his knees and admit defeat once again. never, he keeps pushing forward. running and screaming as he hits the monsters. but nothing works out, they stand up again and again as if he was playing around and not actually fighting.

"AHH!!" one of the monsters does what he was doing throughout this whole fight. it cut through his stomach, a vital area that was wounded several times before. Zoro refuses to fall to his knees. the last thing he wants to do is admit defeat once more. it's such a disgrace. been living here for over a month and what happened? always defeated. always falling to his knees and coughing in pain. but not this time, he stands steady, and his swords fly up once again.

Perona watches anxiously. she can almost feel his pain. she notices how Zoro is gritting his teeth as he fights. how he struggles to keep going. his pride never falters. she sometimes shut her eyes too tightly as he screams in agony. but she still can't leave. she's rooted to her place, hoping this would be over already. any minute now and he would be dead.

"if you can't keep watching, then go back to your room." Mihawk orders. his voice doesn't sound the same anymore. something about his voice says something. it's hidden, but it's still there.

"n-no, I'll... I will stay..." Perona swallows down and stares at Zoro again.

_'he's in pain, he's in so much pain...' _Perona thinks to herself.

finally, the moment they have been all waiting for comes.

they're all down. the monsters are drowning in their own blood. Zoro breathes hard as he looks down at them. his sword is keeping him steady by being buried into the ground. his blood is running down from his head to his chin. he looks to his right where the two are located and gazes at Mihawk. Mihawk stares back then a smile shows up on his face.

"you've done well, Roronoa!! those monsters are way stronger than the ones you saw when you first came!" Mihawk howls. he has never felt so proud of someone. looking at what has befallen him, he thinks Zoro might really be the one.

the one to defeat him.

Perona sighs and falls to her knees. she takes heavy breathes in and shut her eyes, relieved by the fact that it's finally over.

"You had me worried!!" without her consent, she screams at Zoro.

Zoro smiles and looks at her, "why? I thought you hated me?"

she glares at him, tears in her eyes but she denies them, "I do! I really do! ugh!!"

Perona stands up and dashes back to the castle. Mihawk stares at her for a while, laughing to himself then shaking his head.

"well, ready for your next training?" Mihawk asks Zoro and Zoro smirks in return.

as for Perona, she freezes in her place then turns around.

"WHAT!? in your dreams, Roronoa Zoro!!" she yells his name in mockery then turns around again.

"I can see clearly how much she hates me."


	3. Perona's concern

Perona has been acting strange sometimes. most of the time when Mihawk is checking on her, she's reading some books. he doesn't know what they're about, but he noticed how she's always focused on them most of the time. he never bothered to ask, however. everyone in this castle minded their own business as if they were living alone.

sometimes she would look troubled. going around in the abandoned library and searching for things. looking through the titles and huff in frustration when she doesn't find what she wants. Mihawk still follows her movements, but still doesn't feel the need to act.

just a few days later, he walks down the hallway with a cup of tea in his hand, sipping sometimes as he approaches his own room until he hears Perona yelling in frustration.

"UGH! THIS DOESN'T HELP ME EITHER!" Mihawk walks some steps back and stands by Perona's room. he never thought of ever entering anyone's room. they all lived their own lives and he never cared what they actually did or thought of. but for the first time, he was concerned about the pink-haired woman. he looks down at his feet and starts wondering about whether he should knock on the door or just let her be. once he hears another thud and something breaking, he decides that he should knock.

he knocks on the door and awaits her answer. she doesn't answer, of course, but instead dashes to the door and opens it herself. Mihawk for the first time witnesses a very angry Perona with a messy hair he never expected to see. to his surprise, he laughs lightly. he squints his eyes and looks to his side. Perona stares at him in shock, embarrassed and enraged by the old man.

"You seriously knocked on my door just to laugh at me! get out of here!!" she kicks his leg but he doesn't falter. once he's back again to looking serious. he sips some tea and observes the place. books scattered all over the place and bed looking unorganized.

"mind if I intrude your room?" he asks politely.

Perona gives him a weird look, "intrude? you mean wanna enter? sure, uh, sure."

he walks by her and slowly looks around again, "I didn't expect you to mess the room this much, what might be bothering you?"

Perona closes the door behind her and rushes to him, "hold up, why do you even care, _sir_?"

"it's my room before it's yours, _Perona_."

Perona's skin turns in color and she looks down. she starts fiddling with her clothes and muttering things to herself. mostly some insults directed to him.

Mihawk walks to the bed and sits down. putting down the cup on top of the drawer, he sighs and looks up at her, "tell me now, what's all of this mess about?"

she looks back at him with shock obvious on her face. now her fair white skin is as red as it can get. she breathes in, trying to calm herself, then sits next to Mihawk.

still embarrassed, she holds one of the books and gives it to Mihawk, "here," she says as she hands it to him.

he holds it. examining it, he realizes it's a book related to medicine and healing.

"it's for..." she holds it back and feel her heart beating faster than the usual.

"Zoro, right?" suddenly, she looks up at Mihawk and jolts in her place.

"n-not like th-that, o-okay! I j-just don't-"

Mihawk chuckles and closes his eyes. once he opens them again, he looks at her with a smile Perona has never seen on his face before.

"you don't know anything about nursing, so you're reading books to help him."

Perona sighs in frustration, "he always gets hurt! and if he dies, I-" she immediately slams her palms to her mouth.

"you're worried about Roronoa, aren't you?"

she glares at Mihawk, "he's reckless! always pretending like he's not hurting. of course, I'll be worried!!"

Mihawk once again smiles. he knows something is changing. despite not expecting it, it still makes him happy that somehow things are working well between the three of them.

he pats her head which surprises Perona, "I'm proud of you. you're pursuing something just to help others. you're doing great, Perona."

Mihawk finally decides its time to leave. he stands up and heads to the door.

Perona is frozen in her place. her face is too warm and her heart is beating in ecstasy. no one has ever praised her that way. for the first time, she feels like someone who's really precious. she smiles brightly to herself and almost squeals.

"oh, and don't forget to clean that mess. don't want one of my rooms looking like garbage. goodnight." and the door is shut.

Perona stares at the source of sound who's gone by now and feel nothing but hatred once again.

"ugh! don't bother coming then!!"

despite being able to hear her still, Mihawk can't help but still smile.


	4. being stubborn won't get you anywhere

two swords hit each other with full force and Zoro is about to fall to his back but he holds himself tight before he does. indeed, it's another day of fighting. and, perhaps, another day of Zoro getting closer to his death if he's any more reckless.

Perona doesn't get the idea of them always have to fight. to get strong? she laughs at the thought. if getting strong means dying at any second, then there is no point. but it appears she still doesn't understand Zoro enough.

Zoro falls to the ground with a thud which grabs Perona's attention. she gasps, thinking that this was it until he started talking again.

"how was that, Hawk-Eye?" Zoro says between hefty breaths.

Mihawk nods, "better than before. I can see some progress once again." he then eyes Perona, "he got beaten quite well this time. look for him." Perona notices the small smirk on his lips and wishes she could smack him to erase it.

since the day Mihawk knew she was studying to help Zoro, he has been teasing her about it. and Perona only started wishing she was back to Thriller Bark more as he continued doing it.

as Mihawk walks away, Perona approaches Zoro who was still lying on the ground staring at the sky and seem to be wondering about something.

"get up, lover boy, I wanna check on you."

"what do you mean by 'lover boy'? and I didn't even ask for it. I'm fine."

"stop letting your pride eat you up and just get up!"

Zoro gets up and is finally able to meet with Perona's eyes, "you don't have to, I said I'm fine."

"clearly not!" Perona shouts and just for a moment she thought of hitting him back but held herself back at the last second.

Zoro grunts and walks by her, "I can walk just fine, see? I'm okay, you just love to make things a big deal."

Perona turns around and stares at his back. something sharp wraps around her heart, but she refuses to let it eat her up.

"it's only... it's only because Mihawk asks me to! if anything, I wish you were dead!" she might be fooling herself, but there are tears in her eyes already.

she runs and passes by Zoro without giving him a second look. Zoro watches her getting inside the castle and never returning back. suddenly, his knees fall weak and he's on the ground again. he touches his side and looks down then started coughing. a smile creeps on his face.

"I'm such an idiot, what have I done?"

////////////

Perona is in her room, hugging one of the pillows and crying into them. she looks up and around. all the books are still here. the books she spent hours reading and understanding. were they a waste of time? she thought it might have been. she digs her face into the pillow once again and cries.

a knock on the door wakes her up from her despair. her heart beats fast, thinking it's Zoro. what does he want this time? to give her a clear answer and tell her she's useless? or to apologize? never, she thought. Zoro would never let himself go down to his level just for her. she thought of just returning the books and going on with her boring life once again.

"may I come in?" that voice definitely did not belong to Zoro. she takes a deep breath and releases it in relief.

"y-yes..."

Dracule Mihawk enters. he stares at the poor girl and a wave of sadness hits him. he walks in and closes the door behind him. as he approaches her, Perona doesn't bother to look at him or stop crying. what Zoro have said might not have been much, but it still hurt. she worked hard for him, and he let her down. that's what hurt her the most.

"Perona," Mihawk calls as he sits down. he runs his palm on the bed and starts humming quietly. Perona doesn't understand his action, but she still looks at him silently.

it's silent for ten seconds, fifty, a minute, two, fi-

"what do you want!?" Perona shouts out of exhaustion. she's no longer crying or feeling down. just wondering what does the swordsman want.

"ah- I was just..." he looks down to his thighs and shakes his head, _'are you some sort of a teenager?'_ he thinks to himself.

finally, Mihawk clears his throat and looks at Perona dead in the eyes. she freezes in her place, intimidated once again by the strongest man she has ever met.

"I know that it's... hard for you. you've been working hard and... this boy... he didn't appreciate it," he stops.

Perona draws her head closer, "...and?"

"uh- what I'm trying to say is, he probably isn't used to... being treated like this. he's used to being foolish and brash, so it's strange to him that there is always someone beside him to..."

"not to surprise you, but he has got a doctor on the ship. he's _gotta_ be used to someone treating him." Mihawk is taken off guard and once again speechless. he shakes his head and shut his eyes for a moment.

"what I'm trying to say is... he's stubborn and impetuous. you have to deal with this."

Perona frowns, "and how so!?"

"be as stubborn."

he doesn't change in expression nor tone. same as always, stern and stiff. Perona now understands that this is what Mihawk really mean.

Perona wipes her tears away and starts thinking. Mihawk stays by her side, waiting for her answer. something in him is making him want to stay. seeing her crying because of the young swordsman, it feels uneasy. he never thought he would start caring about people. can't seem to recall doing so either. throughout his life, he struggled and survived. over forty years doing so and still continuing. he never thought once in his life that when those two came to his life he would start feeling something different. maybe he's finally approaching something different as well. something that might make him feel a little alive, and not merely just surviving.

"well, I guess I can see what you mean..."

Mihawk smiles and lets out a breath of relief, "that's good, now what will you do?"

Perona looks around and starts humming, "I don't know, I can't bring myself to face him yet..."

Mihawk sighs, "thought so. stay in your place, I'll come back later."

Perona stares at him as he walks to the door and leaves the room. once the door is shut, she sulks and digs her face into the pillow once again. after a while, she grunts and pushes it away.

"I miss Kumashi!!"

////////////

Zoro wraps pieces of clothes around his wound. his movement is slow and his eyes are drowsy. any minute now and he might fall unconscious.

"I must be very tired. I haven't slept for almost a whole day, anyway..." he convinces himself.

"or maybe you're fatigued, Roronoa." Mihawk stands by the door, leaning to his side and watching the young boy tend to his own wounds.

"what do you want..." Zoro speaks while staring down at the bloody clothes between his hands.

"go appologize to Perona." Mihawk orders.

Zoro is silent. he closes his eyes and starts pondering. once he's back, he glares at Mihawk with eyes as red as his blood.

"EXCUSE ME, WHAT? APOLOGIZE!?"

Mihawk nods, "yes, apologize. is your life that worthless that you'd rather live without her treatment and die?"

"what are you talking about, old man? listen, all I care about is to-"

"We get it, but you still need to get treated. your lousy treatment won't get you anywhere."

Zoro freezes in his place. he feels the pain in his body attacking him once again. the burning, tingling feeling coming from each direction is keeping him shaking. he can't hold himself tight any longer and he knows that. Zoro shakes his head, sighing in annoyance and wishing it would all be over already. he looks back at Hawk-Eye and his eyes pierce through him, but Mihawk is not fazed.

"Okay, I agree." Zoro finally answers.

"agree to what?"

"to let Perona help me."

Mihawk glares at him but doesn't move a muscle, "and what else?"

"what else?" Zoro asks back.

"There is one more thing, Roronoa."

Zoro groans in frustration, "and apologize to her! are you satisfied now?"

"once you _do_ apologize, I will be satisfied."

Zoro stands up and walks to Mihawk, "guess I have to do that first, huh?" then, he walks by him and to Perona's room.

////////////

Zoro knocks on the door and the door opens. Perona stares at him, holding back her tears and hatred. Zoro looks down at her. no expression at first, but slowly his cheeks turn in color and he looks somewhere else.

"say it, young boy." Mihawk orders which catch Perona off guard. she looks at Mihawk and a full picture of everything appears. somehow, a smile shows up on her face.

"yes?" she asks Zoro and looks at his eyes. despite him trying to avoid making any eye contact, she's still trying to make one.

"ahh, listen, I just wanted to say, umm..."

Perona's smile slowly starts to widen.

"I was just thinking... uhh..."

"Yeah..?" Perona asks once again.

"s-s-sorr-"

"yes, Zoro?"

"I'm sorry for being an asshole..."

Perona smiles brightly at him. she doesn't say anything in return, but Zoro understands just from her expression what she wants to say.

Mihawk, on the other hand, has a satisfied smile on. he turns his back on them and starts walking to his room, "well, look after him, Perona. this guy is helpless without you."

Perona winks at him, "I know!"

Zoro groans and looks away, "just get it over with..."

"stop giving me that attitude and let's move to your room. don't want mine dirty!"

they still act just like before, but maybe there has been a change of heart in those two.

and, perhaps, Mihawk as well.


End file.
